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The Javan rhinos have one horn and prominent folds in the skin. The horn grows onto a roughened area of the skull. The single horn rarely exceeds 25 cm long and is lacking in some females.
The Javan rhinos prefer tall grass and reed beds in lowland rain forests with a good supply of water and plentiful mud wallows. In Vietnam they occur on very steep hills covered with thick bamboo and rattan stands. Nam Cat Tien National Park is one of the most suitable habitats for the Javan rhinos Their diet consists of shoots, twigs, young foliage and fallen fruit. They remain near water and enjoy bathing and wallowing in mud. The Javan rhinos are mostly solitary except for mating pairs and mothers with young.
There are two major reasons for the Javan rhino's decline. The first one is poaching of the rhino. for its horn. Rhino horn is valued highly for use in medicine, as a drug to reduce fever and cure some certain illnesses and in Yemen horns are carved to make traditional dagger handles. The second reason is habitat loss due to clearing of lowland forest. The most critical threat to the Javan rhinos in Vietnam is the continued conversion of forest into agricultural land.